Signs you want to be an administrator

February16

Inspired by a post from Where I Sit, that comes from Executive Edge which Scott McLeod recommended I’ve come up with this list of reasons to become a school administrator.  Some of these are good, some of these are bad, but it probably reminds you of someone. Here’s hoping we all see more of the even numbers: 

  1. Pushing around little kids isn’t fun anymore, and you want to push around big people and tell them what to do too.
  2. You are not satisfied with just improving your class and want to affect more students, and the larger school environment.
  3. You’re not popular with colleagues so you might as well be loathed as their boss.
  4. You want to be a leader, and help develop your teaching colleagues (this is not your only choice, but it can be one).
  5. Finally, your fellow teachers will HAVE to follow your advice.
  6. You’ve done as much good as you can in your classroom, the whole world awaits!
  7. You’ve done as much (damage) in your own classroom, the whole school awaits (destruction).
  8. You think you have something constructive to contribute to the running of your school.
  9. You like to delegate and blame others, and you feel guilty doing that to children. It won’t be so bad to do it to adults!
  10. You’re liked and well respected by your peers, parents, and students and people look up to you.

Since I’ve stated that I don’t want to be an administrator, it may not be fair to poke at my higher ups, so I’ll list my potential personality flaws that are the reasons for not being an administrator (1, 5 and 9).

by posted under onions, orchids | 5 Comments »    
5 Comments to

“Signs you want to be an administrator”

  1. February 17th, 2007 at 11:07 am      Reply Rick Says:

    I’ve spent much of my career telling people I don’t want to become an administrator. Maybe I told people so much that I quit believing it myself.


  2. February 17th, 2007 at 12:24 pm      Reply alicemercer Says:

    Yeah, since I’m the oldest in my family, and very take charge (potential for leadership), I have had administration suggested to me since I was a first year teacher. I imagine, that aside from any of your sterling personality traits, being a male teacher gets that suggestion floated a lot.

    Speaking of which, the last blog that Scott featured from Dave Sherman had a post about male teachers.

    When did the suggestion of being an administrator start making sense to you? Was it something specific, or did your perception just change over time?


  3. February 18th, 2007 at 11:05 am      Reply Rick Says:

    Great question. The last couple of years, I’ve asked myself if I’m a counselor working in a school, or if I’m a school guy working as a counselor. If the former, my next career move would be to do the doctoral thing and teach at a college somewhere. I’m not sure that’s where I’m the most comfortable. So, I decided it was the latter. I’ve been in and around schools for the better part of 18 years now and have a fairly good sense of how they work. I love my position as school counselor, and I’m not in a hurry to leave it, but my advancement opportunities are pretty limited from my office.

    For the longest time, I just couldn’t see myself as being a principal. Maybe it’s just taken some maturity on my part to realize that would be a good place for me, and that I could be successful in that position.


  4. February 19th, 2007 at 10:25 pm      Reply bsnaxton Says:

    Alice,
    That is an interesting list. I can definitley see some of those traits in people that I work with.
    For me personally I would have to go with number 2 as one of the main reasons that I became an administrator. I felt that I could contribute more to a school from the front office than from the back fourty of the PE world. I did contribute as a pe teacher; tech liason, dc trip, ski trip, ad, etc. However I felt that there may be a little bit more out there for me. Turns out there was. After my first year of admin I was ready to quit. The worst part was having people think that you were trying to mess up on purpose. But since then things have definitly improved.
    Whenever I talk to fellow administrators and I hear them say things like ” I tell my teachers that they have to do that, because I am the one that evaluates them” I cringe. Those words give all of us administrators who are trying to build collaboration and get beyond the us and them stigma a bad rap. I hope more people who go into admin choose reason #2 and less and less people are choosing reason #1

    Brian


  5. February 19th, 2007 at 11:58 pm      Reply alicemercer Says:

    As a teacher, can I say “THANK YOU” for trying to lead through collaboration. Believe me, I know how difficult and downright cantankerous teacher can sometimes be to deal with, but when you make the effort it really shows leadership. I’m glad that the administrators who have responded to this have taken the time to respond. I was concerned when I posted it that it was a little negative, but I also wanted it to be real (always that fine line). I’m very impressed with the quality of many of the administrators who are blogging and were pointed out by Scott


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